


Alkali Lake: Aftermath and Legacy

by Doranwen



Series: Doranwen's Semi-Abandoned WIPs [1]
Category: X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)
Genre: Aftermath, Alpha Reader Needed, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Mentions of John/Pyro, Not Beta Read, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress, Read at Your Own Risk, WIP, not actively being written, posted for those who like reading WIPs that may never be finished
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-08-16
Updated: 2013-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doranwen/pseuds/Doranwen
Summary: The ripples of Alkali Lake go far beyond Xavier's, and grief isn't the only thing they will have to deal with.
Relationships: Jean Grey/Scott Summers
Series: Doranwen's Semi-Abandoned WIPs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1897975





	1. Ororo

**Author's Note:**

> This was started as a way to deal with all of the loose ends X2 left, and which X3 by and large ignored. It ignores X3 entirely, and as I started it before any of the other X-Men films came out, assumes a very different backstory and history than found in the more recent films. The only canon it's based on are the first two X-Men films; the rest is open territory and my headcanon for it is likely far different than what's in the other films. (I haven't seen them.)
> 
> Unfortunately, the scope of the story was far beyond my ability to plot at the time (and still is, to some extent), and I ultimately came up with a nine-point list of detailed questions about the world and plot events that would need answering before I could even begin to write more. I haven't found anyone who wanted to assist with it (I generally need an alpha reader for anything long) and I became more interested in other fandoms as time went on, so it's laid dormant on my hard drive for the good part of a decade (I think I last added to it in 2014), and I finally decided that at least the contiguous portion of what was written should be posted (with copious warnings about its possibly-permanently-unfinished nature), so those who would like to read what there is can do so.
> 
> So in case you haven't noticed from the tags: This is unfinished. It is not being worked on. It may always be unfinished (unless someone really wants to see it finished and is willing to do a LOT of chatting with me to help that). You have been warned; don't expect any more of this fic to be posted (though you can always hit the Subscribe button; one never knows what might happen!).

_Just fly the plane_ , Ororo told herself. _Focus on the plane, because there's nothing else you can do right now and there's no one else to get us home._ So she focused on the plane; it wasn't hard, because it really wasn't meant to have just one pilot. And if she stared at the instruments very carefully, she could almost imagine a flash of red hair to her right, slender hands reaching for controls. She kept her eyes on the displays, pulling wide shock into concentrated attention, blinking the tears back. She very carefully did not listen to the sounds behind her, the quiet sobs of the children, the shuddering breath of Logan, nearly incoherent in repeating the words no one wanted to hear, and Scott, who wept with a restrained desperation.

"Storm?" came the Professor's voice calmly, "what do you know about the other students?"

"They are all safe. We—" Her voice caught for a second; she did not need to explain who 'we' entailed. "We called Hank yesterday; Kitty contacted him from the safe house. He is there with them now."

"Good." Then, softly, "We may need Kitty's talents before this is over."

Ororo nodded; she could think of a few uses for Kitty at the moment herself. "To the school it is, then?"

"Yes, I think so. I would like to call Hank first; the students must be wondering what is happening with us."

Indeed. Ororo did not relish the anticipated announcement, the crying and shock, the funeral— _don't even **think** about that right now_, she ordered herself desperately, sensing the winds swirl a little in response to that tendril of emotion, clamping down on it swiftly—and almost wished school could go on as normal. It would be so much easier to lose herself in the routine.

"Rogue, could you bring me the phone from the front?" asked the Professor. Ororo didn't dare take her hands off the controls, and Logan and Scott were still frozen in shock.

The girl slipped out of her seat and inspected the copilot's seat area. _I will not be surprised if she ends up there on a regular basis someday. She handled the plane rather well for being terrified out of her wits and having had no training._ "Where is it?" Rogue asked.

"In the little compartment on the right there," Ororo answered, glancing over to make sure it hadn't changed location somehow. Rogue found the phone and took it back to the professor before finding her seat again.

"Thank you, Rogue." She answered him with a brief, trembly smile that faded back into the same frozen look the others had, as the professor dialed.

"Hank? Yes, we're on our way back." His face looked normal as ever, as if he hadn't just seen— _no, not seen, **felt**_ —his foster-daughter die minutes before. Ororo wondered how long he would maintain that mask. "I'll fill you in when we get there—thank you for taking care of the others." _Oh, that'll be a **wonderful** conversation…_ Ororo was very glad she was not in charge of the front end of things sometimes. "I see. About an hour, I expect." An hour to prepare to be Ororo again. She rather wished she could stick with Storm for a while. "All right. Thank you. Goodbye." The Professor closed the phone, grasping it in his hand and turning it over and over.

By the end of the phone call the crying in the background had dissolved into a dull, constant whimpering. Ororo wasn't sure which was worse.


	2. Scott

It felt like eternity before Scott could think again. He shook himself from the odd half-embrace with Logan and pulled himself together enough to sit down behind the Professor. Where she'd been sitting. He stroked the seat, as if by touching it he was touching her, till his fingers started shaking. _Jean…_ he called mentally, hoping that somehow, illogically, she would answer. The silence where her mind should have been was nearly deafening, as if a wall had been put in place where before there'd been a tunnel. He felt the brush of the Professor's mind on his, questioning how he was. _Leave me alone_ , he shouted mentally, closing off his mind as best he could, sinking his head into his hands. He felt the beginnings of another headache, and began rubbing his temples the way he'd been taught. He stared at the seat back in front of him, seeing it all again. The frantic dialogue with Storm, problem solving to get the plane in the air, hearing the Professor say Jean was outside and racing to try and stop her— _Jean, why, **why?**_ —but being prevented, seeing the plane lift off and her figure vanish in the waves, kneeling next to the Professor, whose eyes were closed, willing himself not to see, not to feel the moment when… He replayed it again and again, till he was watching a movie, where some guy named Scott wept at the loss of his wife— _no, not wife, but close enough_ —and he was just a customer in the theater, calm, impenetrable. He wondered idly if this was what it felt like when one was turned to stone.

"Coming up on the mansion now," said Ororo from the front. _Huh, she flew back all by herself._ He couldn't remember her ever doing it before. It was harder than it sounded. He'd tried, once, when the Professor was sick. They hadn't thought of training Ororo or Jean yet, and neither woman even knew what the gauges were. It was a tense and nerve-wracking flight. Without someone to cross-check the numbers, one mistake of his could have crashed the plane. The first thing he did upon getting back from the mission was insist that someone else be trained as well. _Jean was my first student_ , he remembered. He quickly focused his attention outwards, before he could become engulfed by the sorrow again.

In a minute he looked out to see the basketball court opening up and the jet being very carefully positioned and lowered. He braced himself for the landing jolt; unlike Logan, he knew it to be nearly unavoidable. VTOL aircraft were tricky to land, especially when they weren't originally designed for it. Then there was silence, and no one moved for a few seconds. The Professor swiveled his head slightly, and the mental touch, light as a snowflake, alerted him to why everyone waited.

 _They need their leader. Can I still even be that?_ He felt the expectation, the weight of senses tuned in. His throat felt thick, and he coughed a little. He stood up and said the first thing that came to mind. "Good landing, Storm." He shook his head slightly in an attempt to think clearly. _What to do next… The mansion; is it even liveable?_ "Wolverine?" he asked. "What shape was the mansion in when you left?"

"A lot of broken glass in the hallways—the soldiers shattered more than a few windows, and your resident siren shattered some others, waking the house up. Pete sent a few soldiers through the wall of some girls' room. Betcha there's water damage in the main hall—Iceman bought us some time escaping." Scott didn't miss the odd glance Bobby gave Logan at that, but figured it probably didn't matter now, whatever it was.

"OK, Logan, you go through the mansion, see if it's passable for us?" Scott was interrupted by a polite cough from Kurt.

"If I go through with him, I could get a mental image of somewhere to teleport the children outside directly so they do not hurt themselves on the glass," he said hesitantly.

 _I should have thought of that. The kids need fresh air and sunshine, not to be cooped up in the plane half the day._ "OK, teleport back as soon as you're outside and take the Professor out to one of the side gardens first off—there are some stone benches he can sit on."

"Can I go with them?" asked Bobby.

Scott peered at him curiously. Last he knew, Bobby wasn't particularly fond of Logan. It had something to do with Rogue, he was sure. And now Bobby **wanted** to go with him. Odd. "Go ahead."

As the three disappeared down the steps, the Professor turned to Scott and Ororo. "The repercussions of this are more than I can fix on my own. We will need Cerebro up and running very soon." He looked at Ororo intently, but she just nodded and began the post-flight checkup on the plane as he pulled out the phone and began dialing.

 _What was that… oh. Forge._ There were only two people in the world who could easily rebuild Cerebro without the parts that currently resided underwater. One was Magneto, who was somewhere off with Mystique and John. _Probably not John anymore_ , he corrected himself. The other was Forge, a mutant with the ability to design just about any mechanical object. He'd visited the mansion a few years ago, setting up a new and improved security system, among other things. _But why the pointed look to Ororo?_ He seemed to remember the weather having been rainier than usual for a month or so after Forge's visit, but that was all he knew. _Maybe Jean will know_ , he thought to himself before freezing. No, Jean wouldn't know anything ever again. He felt a heavy weight settle on his shoulders, and wearily turned to go down and set up pans to catch the plane fluids. There was no time to dwell on it now. There were his kids to take care of, a school to get running again. Maybe then he'd find a way to live.


	3. Rogue

Bobby turned back to Rogue before going down the steps. "Take care of them for me?" he asked, motioning to the other students huddled in the corner. His eyes met hers, serious. He seemed to draw responsibility about him as a warm cloak.

She nodded. "Yeah." It felt good to commit to something just then.

_Oh, come on._

She started at the familiar sarcastic voice, now in her mind. _Shut up, John_ , she sent back vehemently. _You left everyone to die so you could run off with the enemy._

 _Technically that wasn't **me** , but close enough. And at least **someone** had some sense,_ he answered scornfully.

 _You call going off with Magneto sensible? The guy who tried to kill me just 'cause it was useful to him? Who just made the Professor try to kill all the non-mutants?_ Rogue wanted to strangle him, except it was hard to strangle someone living in your own mind.

 _You wouldn't understand,_ John spit out, with an edge Rogue had never heard before.

 _I guess I wouldn't_ , she retorted. _Now shut up, OK? I've got other things to do than argue with your sorry mouth._ She was relieved to not hear him, even if it felt like he was fuming in his corner. The only sounds she could hear were Ms. Munroe and Mr. Summers taking care of the plane outside, and the Professor finishing his phone call. Where was everyone else? _The other kids!_ she suddenly exclaimed to herself. _He tells me to take care of them and I forget they're even there. Nice going, Rogue._

She turned and walked over to the six students, sitting along a side wall near the rear of the plane. Not a smile met her as she cast an eye over them. Emily and her brother Tommy held each other's hands tightly, and Artie and the other two boys glanced up at her silently. She thought she could guess a bit of how they felt. Dr. Grey had been a teacher at the school for as long as anyone could remember. Jubilee was the first to speak.

"You were the one that flew the plane, weren't you?" The corners of her mouth twitched.

"Yeah. Could've landed it better." Rogue sighed as she sat down. She knew the plane had been damaged by the missile, but Dr. Grey had fixed a lot of it. She wondered if her landing had been the crucial last straw. Could she have been responsible for Dr. Grey…? The thought twisted her stomach into knots and she swallowed hard, staring at the floor. She had no idea if Mr. Summers or Ms. Munroe would know, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to ask them.

"Hey, for a girl with no training, I'd say you're doing pretty good." Rogue lifted her eyes to meet Jubilee, who gave Rogue a pointed look as if daring her to disagree.

"Yeah?" Rogue raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah." Jubilee grinned. "Going to take flight lessons?"

"Are they even offered?" Rogue countered.

"You have a point," Jubilee sheepishly admitted.

"Besides," Rogue continued softly, "Mr. Summers is the real pilot, and I don't know if he'll feel like teaching me how to fly any time soon."

Jubilee was silent for a few awkward moments, and Rogue could tell she didn't know how to respond to that. That was a first in Rogue's book. Jubilee could carry on a conversation with a corpse. _No, no, don't go there…_ If she carefully skirted that thought, she might be able to keep going without finding a quiet corner to cry in.

It wasn't long, however, before Jubilee's somber look faded and she was back to her normal self. "So that means you **do** want to fly!" she accused, grinning.

Rogue wondered sometimes who set Jubilee's mood meter permanently on 'Perky'. But she didn't try to deny the accusation, grinning a little back.

A 'whoosh' sound came from behind Rogue, followed by the strong smell of sulfur. She turned to see Kurt standing in front of the Professor. "I am ready to take you outside, if you like."

"Thank you, Kurt," replied the Professor. He reached his arms around Kurt, and the next moment the two vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Guess we get to go outside now, huh?" asked Jubilee. "I can tell you, I'm ready to get out of confined places."

Rogue glanced at her sideways. It hadn't occurred to her how well off she'd come out of the whole situation. All in all, she had gotten lucky. Being prisoner in an underground cell would definitely have been worse.

She didn't have time to think more, as Kurt soon reappeared and came towards them, looking over them all. "I can take some of you outside now, if you like. One at a time will be easiest for me."

"Is Bobby outside now?" asked Rogue. He would need her, she knew. She could be strong for him. Then she could handle all of this. _You can do it._ Logan's sudden yet quiet assertion in her mind was oddly calming, and she relaxed even as she heard his answer.

"No, he went back inside to help Logan with repairs. The Professor is sitting in a garden and says for the children to come sit with him, if they don't mind."

"Who wants to go first?" Rogue asked the rest. She surveyed the group. Emily and her brother still clutched each other's hand tightly, and Artie huddled in the corner holding his knees tightly.

Jubilee gave her a pointed look. "I'm staying till the rest of them have gotten out."

Rogue smiled. "Fair enough. Artie? Emily? Tommy? Who's going to be first?"

Emily stood up slowly. "Can I?" she asked pleadingly.

"Go ahead. Tommy will follow you, and we'll all be outside in a few minutes," Rogue reassured her, and she soon vanished in the cloud of smoke.

"Whew! Does it always stink like that?" asked Jubilee, wrinkling her nose.

"I think so," answered Rogue slowly, trying to remember. She hadn't been paying attention to the smell when she was rescued back inside the plane earlier. "Must be part of his mutation."

Jubilee nodded, and opened her mouth to say something. She hadn't gotten a word out before Kurt was back for Tommy.

Kurt reached out towards the boy, who got to his feet quickly. "Tommy, is it?" Kurt asked. Tommy nodded as Kurt wrapped his arms around him and disappeared, leaving another cloud of black inky-looking smoke.

Jubilee wrinkled her nose again. "Remind me to bring perfume next time we have to teleport." Rogue giggled a little. One could trust Jubilee to find some comedy in everything.

Kurt was quick with the rest of them, and Rogue soon found herself in the garden. Other than the occasional bootprint or mark of some heavy tool, the grass was unscathed. The flowers weren't as fortunate; most of the beds near the house were crushed, a few blossoms still hanging on to life. _Poor Ms. Munroe, she's going to be so mad when she sees them!_ Rogue thought. The other kids had found a spot behind the Professor's bench, where she could barely see them. They were hiding, she realized. She didn't blame them; it sounded rather comforting herself. She remembered Logan's mental comment, and took a deep breath before turning to look for Jubilee.

The Asian girl was walking towards the corner that led to the gate, peering from behind the bushes. The gate door was opening, and a large van rumbled down the drive slowly, stopping at the courtyard. Rogue watched as a dark-haired boy peeked out the passenger side window cautiously. When he spotted the Professor, his face broke out into a grin. He quickly got out and opened the side door for the others.

"Cody!" called the Professor. "Glad to see you are safe." The boys sitting behind the Professor jumped up to greet him happily.

Rogue waved at him, then turned to Jubilee. "C'mon, let's go say hi." She motioned the other girl over as she walked towards the other children. Several girls and boys slipped out of the van tentatively, blankets wrapped around them. Most were barefoot, and all of them wore pajamas of some sort. None looked to be past junior high age, much less of Rogue's class.

Jubilee emerged warily, scanning the group. "They're all the younger kids," she observed.

"Yeah," said Rogue. "I think Piotr and Kitty and Dani must have stayed behind with the rest of them to protect them."

"Probably. Piotr's good at that." Jubilee was about to turn away when she caught sight of Hank. "Holy s***!" she exclaimed to Rogue. "Look at Dr. McCoy!"

Rogue followed her eyes. Hank was known for being large and oversized, especially in the hands and feet, but now he was sporting a coat of blue fur over his entire body—even his hair had turned blue. "Do you think it's safe to ask him what happened?"

Jubilee snorted. "It's Dr. McCoy, of course it is. Besides, I'm too curious not to ask." _Naturally she is_ , thought Rogue with an inward grin as she followed the other girl.

Hank didn't give them the opportunity to chat, though, as he made a beeline for the Professor, and visited only a few seconds with him before heading back towards the van. "C'mon, let's ask the Professor; I think Dr. McCoy's going back for the rest." Rogue beckoned to Jubilee as she turned.

The Professor turned to the two girls as they came up. "Jubilee, Rogue, have a seat." He gestured to the extra space on the bench.

Jubilee wasted no time. "What's up with Dr. McCoy?" she asked bluntly.

"Jubilee!" exclaimed Rogue.

"It's all right, Rogue," reassured the Professor. "Dr. McCoy's secondary mutation has manifested as a response to the mental attack you felt before being rescued. I'll speak more about it in an assembly."

The girls looked at each other for a couple moments, then Jubilee looked back at the Professor. "Is he gonna be blue and furry the rest of his life?" she asked.

The Professor's mouth twitched before he spoke. "He very well may be." Jubilee looked away and said nothing.

Just then, Kurt popped back in front of them. "Excuse me, Professor. Would you mind if I told the children a story about when I was in the circus? They are hungry and restless," he added apologetically.

"That is an excellent idea; thank you, Kurt. I'll send someone for food soon." Kurt nodded and vanished with a "whoosh". "Are you hungry?" he asked the girls.

Rogue nodded. Jubilee's stomach growled loudly in response. "They only gave us a pan of water," she said in an quiet tone of voice that made Rogue suddenly sit very still. If there was one thing that defined Jubilee, it was _presence_. From loudly popping bubble gum to managing to be heard everywhere you turned in the mansion, Jubilee was there and everyone knew it. Rogue couldn't remember a time that Jubilee had ever been less _there_ than right then.

The Professor covered Jubilee's hand with his own. "I'm very sorry, Jubilee. I will do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again," he told her softly.

Rogue gathered some courage. _If I'm ever going to find out anything, I'd better do it now._ "What was it like?" she asked hesitantly.

"We woke up in a helicopter; I could see the others next to me. They had us gagged, tied our hands and ankles. I didn't know where I was or what was happening…" Jubilee spoke in a near-monotone, trailing off.

"May I look?" asked the Professor, looking intently at Jubilee, who nodded after a second. His eyes unfocused for a few seconds before returning to normal. "You begged the soldiers for the blankets, then?" he asked. She nodded again. "I'm glad you were there to take care of the younger ones."

Jubilee looked slightly uncomfortable at the compliment. Rogue saw an opening. "Betcha didn't think you'd ever play nursemaid," she added with a slight grin, holding her breath.

A smile appeared on Jubilee's face, slowly at first, then turning into a smirk. "Yeah, well, they're lucky they're so well behaved. I might've ended up screaming at brats."

Rogue giggled slightly, opening her mouth to say something, but the sound of the van returning beat her to it. "Dr. McCoy's back! C'mon, let's see who's with him," she said as she started across the courtyard.

The van doors opened and the rest of the students poured out. "Most of the older ones must've stayed waiting," she observed to Jubilee. These were the kids she saw in some of her combined high school classes.

"Jubilee, Rogue, are you OK? Dr. McCoy did not tell us much, but when you were not with us…" Piotr called over several heads, making his way through the mass of students exiting the van. He glanced over the two girls, eyes filling with surprise upon seeing Rogue's outfit. "You are one of the X-Men now?"

Rogue grinned. "No, but they gave us something to do and Bobby and I got to wear these."

"Ah," said Piotr, grinning back at her. His smile soon faded as he saw what Jubilee was wearing. "Did they take you?" he asked quietly. She nodded. "I am sorry I did not find you. I woke up when Theresa screamed and I stopped them from taking her. They must have gotten to you first." He gave her a sad look as his eyes begged forgiveness.

"It's OK, Pete," she reassured him, patting his shoulder. "You took care of all of them. You did great, OK? 'Sides, I'll be fine, once I can get something to eat."

"OK. I will see you later then. There is much glass to clean up," he called over his shoulder, metaling up as he headed into the mansion.

Rogue looked around for Hank, who was sitting and chatting with the Professor. She noticed the recently arrived students were walking over to join the younger ones, and gestured to Jubilee. "Looks like the last of the other kids are back, then."

Jubilee nodded. "Kitty's gotta be with them. I mean, she got away, right? She could run anywhere." Her voice held an odd tone, and Rogue glanced at her curiously.

"Yeah, the Professor said all of the other kids were with Hank. We didn't lose any of them but John," she whispered the last sentence wistfully.

Jubilee tentatively reached out and squeezed Rogue's shoulder with her hand, who glanced at her, startled. Casual contact was something Rogue had rapidly gotten disused to after manifesting. People just didn't **touch** a girl who could literally kill them with her bare hands, even where her skin was covered with cloth. Rogue opened her mouth to say something, but turned at the sound of footsteps approaching.

Kitty stood in front of them in her nightgown and bare feet, hands clutching a blanket around her. Her eyes were red and puffy, and Rogue could see them watering. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she repeated over and over, voice catching. "It's all my fault…" Jubilee looked at Kitty steadily with a blank expression on her face.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rogue, wrinkling her forehead in confusion.

Kitty almost didn't seem to hear her as she faced Jubilee, tears running down. "I didn't know, Hank told me, I could have done something…" Jubilee continued watching Kitty.

It suddenly occurred to Rogue what Kitty was talking about, and she fumbled for something to say. "There wasn't—you couldn't have done anything for us, Kitty," she finished.

"Yes, I could've! I could've gotten myself captured and helped you escape later, Jubie, I could have **done** something, anything besides run away like a coward…" She broke down in near-hysterical sobs. Rogue shifted her feet from side to side and looked away.

Jubilee's face softened, and she held out her arms. "C'mere," she ordered Kitty gently.

Rogue turned away from the two of them, feeling a little out of place as she quietly slipped away. _They've known each other for **years** …_ Normally it was easy to forget how much of a newcomer she was, but times like this were a sharp reminder of how fragile the ties were between her and the rest.

Rogue shrugged her shoulders and began walking towards the mansion. There'd be time enough at night to mope about such things, when the darkness seemed eternal and friendless. For now it was sunny and if she remembered correctly, there was a lot of cleanup to do. She was dressed for it, unlike most. She caught a glimpse of Logan directing Bobby towards some tools, and headed towards him. Maybe she could even take her gloves off and get really filthy… _Now you're talkin', kid_ , came her inner Logan. _Hush_ , she sent back. He stayed quiet as she got a broom and attacked the broken glass vigorously.


	4. Logan

Logan felt a faint bit of surprise within when Bobby actually volunteered to go with him. _Maybe the kid's getting over his jealous complex_ , he muttered inwardly. He wasn't sure that's what it was, though. There was a desperately determined look on Bobby's face that worried Logan. It wasn't an expression he'd ever seen Bobby wear before. _Gonna have to watch him_ , Logan decided, as he hoisted Kurt onto his back to spare the teleporter's bare feet.

The trip through the school was rather grim. No one spoke as they traveled through. The lower levels were covered with muddy tracks from dozens of soldiers' boots, and the door to Cerebro was even slightly ajar. Upstairs was worse; shattered glass covered the hallways where soldiers had burst through the windows (or where Terry's scream had reached), and wood splinters coated the floors where Piotr had tossed the soldiers through the wall. It was not going to be a quick cleanup job.

 _Good_ , Logan told himself decisively. _I'll have plenty to keep busy._ It was certainly better than sitting around idle and thinking too much. Unbidden, his thoughts drifted back to the last glimpse of red hair and hand upraised, dropping as water engulfed. No! He was not going to think about that. It was far too raw, and the only three things that could take his mind off that kind of emotion were sex, fighting, and physical labor. Since sex and fighting seemed to be out of the question at the moment… _Cleanup is a **very** good thing_, he told himself as he began mentally listing the tasks needed to repair the place. "C'mon Bobby, we got work to do," he told the boy once Kurt had seen his way to the outdoors and bamfed back for the children. "Get a broom and dustpan from the closet and start on cleaning up the glass in this first hallway. I'm gonna smooth out the wall upstairs before fixing it."

He watched Bobby obey instantly, his face entirely wrapped up in concentration. _I doubt he wants to think too much about the last few days either._ Logan kept an eye on him surreptitiously as he passed by the boy in search of various tools. It occurred to him to wonder who really got to know Bobby, besides his pyromaniac ex-friend. He wasn't sure who did, but they sure didn't have time now. And someone had better watch him, after what happened to him these last few days. _Don't need him going crazy on us,_ he reasoned. It was a perfectly good reason to keep an eye on the kid. He hadn't gotten attached to anyone, no. Attachment meant you cared if someone died, and he could **not** afford to care right now. But as he hacked and sawed, a whisper from a corner of his mind kept reminding him of a stolen kiss, and he found he kept getting wood dust in his eyes that needed wiping away.

A half hour later, the wall was starting to look a little less jagged when Logan heard a van pull up. He peered out a broken window to see a bunch of the younger kids spilling out of it, clutching to a few shared blankets. It was good they were back, but he didn't recognize the blue furball driving. It was certainly among one of the more noticeable mutations he'd seen. Logan went back to work as the van left, but it wasn't long until it returned and footsteps came up the stairs. Logan turned to look at his visitor. "Is there something I can do to help?" asked Piotr, who stood before Logan in his metal form.

"Yeah. Hey, what's with the tin skin? Ain't nobody to fight here now." Curiosity first, then work, decided Logan.

"I don't have my shoes on, and it is not safe to walk barefoot here with the glass and wood. This way I don't cut my feet," answered Piotr.

Logan nodded. "Still, probably easier if you don't have to keep it up. Go find some boots and clear the glass somewhere no one else is working." Piotr bowed his head briefly in assent and turned toward his room.

Logan would bet that none of the others had shoes either. It didn't look like they even had enough blankets. He pondered a moment, then jerked another closet door open to reveal a stack of blankets. "This oughta help," he muttered to himself. He hauled them outside and looked around for the kids. They seemed to be sitting around Kurt, who was demonstrating circus tricks. A good idea, he thought; it would keep them from thinking about other things. He walked over and plopped them on one of the nearby benches. "In case someone's cold." The younger children stared at him, a little wide-eyed, and Logan decided now was the best time to get out of there. A cheery "Zank you" from Kurt followed him inside as he tried to think of what next needed to be done.

"Hey." The one-word greeting would've startled anyone else, but Logan had heard Rogue coming a mile off.

"Hey. Get a broom and dustpan from the closet down there." Logan inclined his head toward the other end of the hall. Rogue nodded and headed off to the tools. He half-grinned at her ready obedience. _I knew she'd be over here soon as she could._ Rogue never could stand to be idle.

Logan was deciding that it was about time for a trip to the nearest hardware store when the sound of voices echoed from the stairwell to the basement. "I'll see what needs to be done with the children. If you and Logan can work together to assess the damage, it would be helpful," advised Ororo to Scott as they emerged from the stairs. The weather witch headed outdoors as Scott made his way toward Logan.

"What have you gotten done so far?" asked Scott, without the usual barb in his voice. Logan gave the other man a once-over. The visor prevented a good look at his eyes, and the rest of his face was showing about as much emotion as usual. _Actually, probably less_ , Logan thought to himself. _He doesn't have the usual annoyed look._ Logan's half-hearted amusement faded into grim reality as he showed Scott the damage to the hallways.

Scott was surprisingly calm as they discussed what they'd need to buy. Logan had figured he'd snipe or yell a bit. Scott pulled out a notepad and pencil to jot things down, which Logan didn't think was really necessary—that's what the mind was for, right?—but he didn't feel like arguing about it.

"Logan?" The weather witch strode toward him determinedly, interrupting the discussion. "The Professor wants me to pick up some pizzas for lunch. I assume you need to get a few things from the hardware store in town?"

Logan soon found himself following Ororo over to an old beat-up pickup stashed in a distant corner of the garage. "Wanna explain why you need me for this and not Scott?"

Ororo climbed into the driver's seat and sat still a moment, gazing at the rest of the cars, before turning to Logan and replying. "I think it is best that Scott have something to do with his hands right now. It will keep his mind off of other things." Logan gave her a short nod in reply, then turned to staring out the window.

The trip to the store was uneventful, and Logan selected the needed items and hauled them out to the pickup once Ororo paid for them with one of Professor X's credit cards. A few people in the store gave them some odd glances, but mostly returned to their shopping. The one exception was Mrs. Harrison, one of the school's neighbors, who trotted over to them as they left the store. "I do sincerely hope that there was some **good** reason for the unacceptable level of noise last night?" she demanded.

Logan looked over at Ororo, hoping she would handle it. "I am very sorry for any inconvenience, Mrs. Harrison. There were some student pranks which got extremely out of hand. The ones at fault have been dealt with, and should give everyone no more trouble," Ororo explained. The double meaning of her words was not lost on Logan. If he'd been in more of a darkly humorous mood, he'd have snorted in amusement.

Mrs. Harrison appeared slightly mollified with the apology. "I should hope so," she said, and turned to march to her car.

"Oh dear," muttered Ororo with a deep sigh. "The Professor will need to go smooth that one over. She's quite touchy, and the Professor's the only one with the right diplomatic touch to calm her down completely."

Once the last of the purchases were loaded in the pickup, they started toward the pizza parlor. The silence was smothering, and Logan found himself wanting to talk. "What kind of security did the school have before this?" he asked Ororo. Under his breath he muttered, "Not that it would have mattered much since Magneto told them everything."

"Some perimeter alarms, mostly, and a resident telepath with a psychic net usually set up to alert him if someone intruded. We never counted on the Professor being gone at the time they attacked," Ororo said with another deep sigh.

Logan shook his head in disbelief. "Of **course** that's when they'd attack. Anyone who has an inkling of what he is wouldn't want to attack anywhere near him, unless they've got a helmet like Magneto's." He paused to assess Ororo's reaction. Her mouth was still relaxed and she didn't seem to glare at him as she glanced over, so he figured she wasn't too insulted. "Who set the system up, anyway?"

This time he did notice a slight flickering of the muscles in her face—a bit of a grimace?—as she replied. "A mutant named Forge. He's a friend of the Professor, and designs machines. He helped create Cerebro." Logan noted she focused very intently on driving right then, not looking over at him.

"I thought Magneto was the one who created Cerebro?" he asked.

"Yes and no. Forge designed how it would work, but Magneto put the panels into place. An easy matter with his mutation, of course. But Forge has designed some tricks that might be able to help re-create Cerebro without Magneto's help. That's probably going to be top priority. As long as the Professor doesn't go anywhere, he should be able, while awake, to keep the school safe for now. But his range is limited, so we're going to need Cerebro to boost it." Ororo gave him a sideways glance. "You're intending to take over school security?"

Logan had to think about that for a moment. Did he really want to tie himself to the school that tightly? And it wouldn't stop there, he was sure. No, soon as he started doing that job than they'd come up with something else that only he could do. Heaven forbid, he might end up **teaching** if he wasn't careful.

Yet… he found himself strangely warming to the idea. "Someone has to," he told Ororo finally, as they arrived back at the school. Students seemed to swarm from everywhere, using that mysterious ability of teenagers to locate hot pizza. They lifted the boxes out to put them on a folding table in the garden, and Logan turned to Ororo. "Besides, who else is left?" Their eyes met as they gave each other a sad half-smile, then Logan headed inside to locate paper plates from the torn-up kitchen before the students devoured all the pizza straight out of the box.


	5. Ororo

"You're intending to take over school security?" Ororo had tossed the question out just to see how Logan would respond. She fully expected a vehement denial, but instead Logan sat quietly, lost in thought. _Well, that's odd_ , she thought. _Maybe he's decided to stick around, then?_ She still didn't think that outcome likely, so his answer, when it finally came, surprised her. She found herself mulling over the possibilities. There were definite benefits to having a fighter that well-trained on the grounds. Ah well, the Professor would have to work that one out. He seemed to have a lot more sway over Logan than anyone else.

She had been enjoying the conversation, but Logan's parting remark brought a dash of cold water on her spirits. A reminder of what had happened, and who they had lost… She longed to be curled up in her attic room right then. If she didn't keep control of herself, however, they'd have a lot of rain they didn't want, especially with all the holes in the mansion. She would have to wait to think about it till the place had been repaired. And anyway, there were the children to look after.

Ororo turned her attention to the youngsters, watching them inhale the pizza. Of all the students, she could only think of two that had had anything resembling a decent meal in the last 24 hours. Food had definitely been needed. Next… something to keep them busy. When children were busy, they did not have the time to think about the traumatic things. _Routine! That's what they need—some sort of routine. That will help them settle down again._

A voice interrupted her musings. "You aren't starving yourself, Ororo?" She turned to see the Professor, who had quietly rolled up on her right side in his spare wheelchair.

"No, Professor. I wanted to let the children eat first. They need it more." That wasn't exactly true, but it wasn't exactly false either. To be honest, she hadn't given the food a thought. She wasn't hungry, after all that had happened. But the last thing the Professor needed to do was worry about her, so she moved to take a couple pieces of pizza on a plate and nibbled on them.

Ororo looked back to find the Professor heading to talk with a student. She scanned the crowd to assess the mood. The children were more subdued than usual, though with some food the talk had picked up a bit. Kitty and Jubilee were quietly chattering to each other. Jubilee seemed to have lost some of her shock—Ororo recalled the girl had huddled with her blanket in the corner of the plane for most of the ride—though she had no illusions about her trauma having vanished altogether. _It's going to take a long time for us all to recover from this one, if we ever can,_ Ororo thought grimly. Rogue sat with Logan and Bobby; they seemed to be engaged in some sort of discussion about the reconstruction plans. Kurt was sitting on a bench with the youngest students, who gave him worshipful looks as he told another tale from his days with the circus. _He's got them eating out of his hand_ , she noted amusedly—and thankfully. He could keep them occupied while she got life back to normal for them—or as normal as it ever could be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a quiet "Ororo?", and she set her half-eaten slice back on the plate with a nod. They had a president to see, or the school would sustain more damage than a few broken windows.


	6. Kitty

Kitty was slightly jealous of Rogue and Bobby (she decided that thinking about John right now wasn't a good idea). It was probably not the greatest reason to be jealous, either, but it was the truth. She wanted to wear the uniform, to be an X-Woman. She and Jubilee had spent hours dreaming of the day when they were considered an adult enough to join the team. It wasn't something the adults had ever mentioned, but she was planning on asking anyway, someday. But now it seemed Rogue and Bobby had gotten tacit permission to be part of them, somehow, even if it happened because they ended up in a car with Logan. She wondered what she would have to do to be considered for it. _Not that they're likely to ask me, now. I doubt they want someone who's just going to run away and leave everyone else to their own fate_ , she told herself miserably. She hadn't intended to just leave everyone; she just hadn't **thought** about it. She didn't think at all, actually, just acted on instinct. _They always told us in biology that animals have a fight or flight instinct, depending on whether they think they're up to the situation or not. I guess I don't think I'm up to much._

Her thoughts were starting to get more self-pitying than she wanted to listen to, so she got up to see if there was a pizza slice or two for seconds. "Kitty?" The Professor's voice was quiet but expectant.

"Y-yes?" Her eyes seemed to have trouble looking higher than the wheels of his chair. For all that Jubilee had forgiven her, **she** wasn't ready to forgive herself, and she certainly didn't think the Professor would be either.

He seemed to sigh a little. "Come, I think we need to take a little walk." He maneuvered his chair along one of the paved paths. The silence seemed to choke Kitty as she placed her bare feet in the soft grass. She started at his next words. "Why do you think you behaved so shamefully?"

Kitty raised her eyes to his face, but was mute with shock. It was obvious! She could have done so much to help the others, from hassling the soldiers to rescuing her friends. She did know how to take someone else through a wall with her, after all.

"Forgive me for overhearing, but you are practically shouting your thoughts," the Professor said with a slight smile to smooth over the mild reprimand. "There is one thing you have forgotten: you have never been trained to do that sort of thing. Why would you expect to be an expert at it in a time of stress?"

Kitty could only stare at him. She **hadn't** thought about that.

"What's more, even professionals who are trained to do those sorts of things have to fight the instinct to flee, and some are unsuccessful at it," the Professor went on. He reached out his hands and clasped one of hers in between. "You need to know that you did just fine. You saved yourself from being captured, and you helped with the younger children at the safe house. I couldn't have asked for more."

Kitty found herself blinking back tears yet again, and nodded for a response. She turned to go, but the Professor still had her hand captive.

"I have a request to make." Something in his tone of voice caused her head to snap back up suddenly. "I need to ask you to use your skills to retrieve some documents for us."

She caught her breath. Had he just asked her what she thought he did? "Documents?" Kitty finally found her voice.

"Yes. From a private office in a secured building." It sounded rather dangerous. "It **will** be quite dangerous," he answered her thoughts, "though much less so for you as long as you are ready to phase at the slightest hint of discovery. You will have to take care that you are not seen, and I will maintain telepathic contact in order to alert you of anyone approaching, and to help you find the documents we need." He gave her a regretful look. "I would rather not ask this from you, but the need is too great right now. Will you do it?"

Kitty had once imagined jumping for joy when she was finally asked to do something important for the X-Men. Now that she had actually been asked, she wasn't so sure she really wanted the opportunity, but she found herself nodding yes. She took the boots and uniform Rogue handed her without trembly hands, shoving the fear into a tight corner and building walls around it. When the fear started pushing at the walls, as she pulled on a uniform and braided her hair back out of the way, she pushed back, hoping the walls wouldn't crumble until the job was done. _I'll probably pay for it later, but I am **not** going to fail everyone this time,_ she told herself determinedly as she strode to the jet with the others and took her seat.


	7. Jubilee

Jubilee finished gobbling her last two pieces of pizza and looked around to see where Kitty had gone. _She was right there…_ She fought the irrational urge to hide, flitting her eyes back and forth. _What?_ Rogue was coming out of the mansion with boots and… a uniform? But Rogue wasn't heading her way. Jubilee tracked her with her eyes until they settled on Kitty. She was halfway there before she realized she had moved, and looked at Rogue pointedly, who ducked her head and turned to go.

"Hey, where's mine?" Silence answered her question. She scanned the scene and was in front of the Professor in a flash. "Hey! Where's **my** uniform?" She didn't realize she was shouting until the Professor's voice contrasted it.

"You're not going on this mission, Jubilee."

A ball of fury started small in her stomach, growing as the seconds passed. "You're letting Kitty go. And Rogue. Why don't **I** get to go?" Her eyes flashed, and a couple sparks came off her hands before she forced them back down. Ororo came behind her and quietly ushered Kitty and Rogue inside, leaving Jubilee facing the Professor alone.

"Rogue is going because she was with us on the Alkali Lake mission and witnessed much of it. Kitty is going because we need her particular power."

The calm explanation did little to satisfy Jubilee. "I was at Alkali Lake too!" she cried indignantly. The Professor's face was implacable, and suddenly things clicked together. "You don't think I can protect myself, do you? You don't think I can take care of myself. Because they captured me, and Kitty just ran away—"

"Enough, Jubilee." The Professor's voice was quiet but stern. "It has little to do with protection. Kitty is just as vulnerable as you or I, despite her phasing. If they chose to use gas, she could be captured or injured as easily as anyone else."

Jubilee wiped an angry tear from her cheek. "But—"

"I wish I did not have to include any of you. You haven't had the training to protect yourselves, and you are not fully adults yet, either. But Rogue needs to be a part of this mission, and we can't do it without Kitty's help. I need your help too, if you're willing." He laid a hand on his knee, palm up.

Jubilee gazed at him coolly for a few seconds. "I'm going to guess it doesn't include backup fireworks," she said scornfully.

"It could if you think it might entertain the children. I would imagine Dr. McCoy could make use of that."

"Huh?" Jubilee could only stare at him blankly.

"I'm putting you two in charge of keeping the children busy while we are gone. Dr. McCoy and Piotr can protect, but I think you will be of more use in keeping their attention," he suggested.

Jubilee said nothing for a minute, turning inward. Contrary to popular belief, she was quite capable of thinking about serious topics, and she didn't need the Professor to spell out exactly why she was needed to occupy the other students' attention. She suspected he had an ulterior motive in keeping her busy as well. _He **didn't** say I couldn't **ever** go on a mission_, she argued with the part of her that still wanted to march onto the plane, uniform or no uniform. Reluctantly she let her eyes find his. "All right. I'll do it." _This time._

"Thank you, Jubilee." The Professor smiled at her as he turned to roll away, but she held no illusions that he was unaware of her true feelings. _Someday…_


	8. Scott

Scott waited for the students to finish swarming the pizza before grabbing a slice and eating it as he headed to the truck to unload it. He wasn't that much of an electrician, and Xavier had the money to hire anyone he needed to, but there weren't too many good ones who didn't mind mutants, so he had learned the basics. _It would be hard to explain all the damage to anyone anyhow. Piotr must've really thrown those men hard._ It occurred to him that they had one thing to be very grateful for: the soldiers had taken the bodies with them. He didn't think he could handle moving carcasses of the men that had invaded his home. Bile rose up in his throat, and he sat down on a step hard. _Breathe in, out, in, out,_ he told himself, concentrating on the simple exercise. The pizza had settled like a rock, and he couldn't help but long for the one body that he would never see. Even to put her in a casket would have been better than this eternal absence of anything physical.

"You OK?" asked Logan quietly as he appeared around the corner and glanced at Scott. He lugged an armful of boards and other supplies past Scott to the top of the stairs and stopped, turning around to face the younger man.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Scott stated flatly, staring and willing him to go away. For once Logan didn't supply a comeback, nodding once in acknowledgment and taking the materials down the hall.

Scott closed his eyes; his mind drifted to Alkali Lake again, like a movie clip endlessly cycling, and he jumped when he felt the Professor's touch on his mind. _"We need to head for Washington. I'll see you at the jet in a few minutes."_ Scott nodded to himself, stood up, and stopped still. _Who is going to guard the place in the meantime?_ He wasn't worried about the buildings—the valuable parts of Cerebro were buried under tons of water, and everything else could be easily replaced—but they still had around 40 students to protect.

He headed towards the nearest stairwell with a determined gait in his steps, shoving Alkali Lake to a corner of his mind. Logan's footsteps echoed behind him, and voices rose from below. He rounded the corner to the X-Men wing of the basement and blinked when he saw Ororo guiding Kitty out of one of the side rooms with a uniform on. _Oh, right. How else are we going to prove Stryker's intentions with his own documents?_ He scanned his eyes around, but the "whoosh" of Kurt's teleportation clued him in to the Professor's location. "Who's guarding the children?" he asked as he bounded up the stairs into the jet.

"Hank is in charge, with Piotr to help. Jubilee will help keep them occupied," replied the Professor.

Scott raised his eyebrows. " **Just** Hank and Piotr? Are you crazy?" His voice rose a few decibels sharply.

"I don't think we have to worry about the military at this point in time. The neighbors simply think we had a few student pranks that got out of hand. No one will come after them in the time we will be gone, and they can always go back to the safe house if threatened." Professor X held Scott's eyes. "It will be OK this time."

 _This time._ The words lingered in Scott's mind, and he returned a joyless half-smile before heading to the cockpit to begin the pre-flight checklist. Ororo settled into the co-pilot's seat a minute later, and they finished the rest of the checklist wordlessly. It was somehow easier to keep going in silence, as if every word were another twist of the knife lodged in his heart.


	9. Rogue

Rogue's hands trembled as she fastened the seatbelt this time (she wondered how long they would), but Cyclops waited until she had done so before taking off. A kind courtesy, she thought, in that part of her mind that didn't seem to be affected by emotion. She couldn't decide whether she enjoyed riding in the jet or not: Logan hated it, Erik loved it, and John thought of it only as a useful tool—with a side of "grown-up toy" thrown in. David had faded to a dull murmur by now, and she thankfully hadn't had to absorb the truckers long enough for them to stick around. _Watch out_ , she told herself, _give it another year and I'll beat Sybil for multiple personalities_. A choked giggle escaped her, transforming into a cough as eyes turned around to fall on her. _You've got great timing, Rogue; laugh right after Dr. Grey dies._ She swallowed the lump that was forming and tried to think of something else.

Across the aisle, Kitty glanced over. _She looks more scared than I am; that's saying something._ "Hey, you OK?" Rogue asked. Kitty nodded, but Rogue raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Your face looks like it hasn't seen the sun in a year." She gave the other girl a pointed look. "It's OK, I think I would be terrified too if I were going to walk into a high-security building and walk out with some papers that don't belong to me."

That got a smile out of Kitty as she clasped her hands together in her lap. "Yeah, for all of Senator Kelly's fears, this is actually my first heist."

Rogue gasped in a dramatic whisper. "What, you haven't been robbing banks all these years?" She snorted in disgust at the thought. "People who think like that are the ones who **would** rob a bank if they could get away with it. They're just jealous that you **could** and can't believe you wouldn't, because **they** would."

Kitty grinned back sardonically. "I think you're right." She twiddled her fingers in her lap a bit more.

"What was it like?" Rogue asked, a note of hesitance in her voice. "I mean, what happened when the soldiers came?"

"What do you mean? You were there too, right?" Kitty's face was a study of puzzlement.

"Yeah, but I looked for Logan instead of heading to the safe house like we'd practiced. We—Bobby and John and I—ended up in the garage, took one of Mr. Summers' cars. They weren't watching it, probably thought it was too far away from the house for anyone to get to. I guess whoever told them about the school didn't tell them about the tunnels."

Kitty nodded. "I woke up with one of the soldiers' flashlights in my face. So I phased—through the floor, ended up running through the Professor's office and into the woods. They quit following me pretty quick—probably figured it wasn't any use if they couldn't shoot me with one of the darts." She stared at the back of the seat in front of her, but Rogue didn't think she saw it. "I knew we were supposed to head to the house over on Wilson Avenue, so I went that way. I freaked out when I heard the kids for a second, nearly scared Pete half to death when I popped out of a tree in front of him."

Rogue gave a little grin at the mental image. "I think I saw a book cover once that looked like that."

Kitty giggled, trying to hide a little sniff before she went on. "A couple of the kids had gotten shot with those darts. Tranquilizers, I think—Terry was starting to come out of it, but Jones was still out, so Pete had to carry him. Anyway, we got to the safe house okay. I called Dr. McCoy and told him what happened, so he started driving his van up. Nobody could sleep right away, but I think we got to sleep before the sun came up. Then Dr. McCoy showed up. He brought some snacks and water bottles for everyone, but we didn't dare go back to the mansion till the Professor called." She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Hey," Rogue called softly. Kitty's eyes met hers. "It's okay. We survived."

"Most of us," Kitty answered back with the same tone, mirroring the sad smile Rogue wore.

"Landing in ten seconds," called Scott from the front, and both girls turned their heads to watch out the window as the ground grew nearer. Rogue braced herself for the characteristic thump and let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Kitty?" called the Professor. She quickly undid her straps and strode up the aisle. He clasped her hands in his reassuringly. "You can do this. I will stay in mental contact with you and warn you if I sense anyone else nearby." She nodded. "When you reach his office, let down your shields enough to let me look through your eyes. I'll guide you to the documents we need to collect. Can you handle it?" He looked her in the eyes steadily.

Kitty nodded again. "I'll—I'll do my best, sir." She swallowed nervously.

"Very good." He said no more as the ramp was lowered, and the plane grew quiet while Kitty walked down the steps, a long trench coat hiding her uniform. Rogue watched as she slipped through the overgrown field toward the streets. _This is going to take awhile,_ Rogue thought. She didn't realize she'd spoken out loud till Logan responded.

"That's the downside of a mission, kid," Logan called back. "Best get comfy."

Rogue scanned the others. Mr. Summers' shoulders were slumped forward. Ms. Munroe seemed to be doing some kind of meditation. The Professor had his eyes closed, following Kitty. Logan was staring out the window, drumming his fingers on his legs. Mr. Wagner— _I think that's his name?_ —had a rosary out and was saying prayers. Bobby turned around, meeting her gaze with his own anxious one. He reached his hand back, and she clasped it. _It will be okay,_ she told herself, gripping Bobby's hand a little tighter. _It will be okay._


	10. Logan

There's a deep level of certainty when you just **know** something, without any conscious memory or reason why. When you wake up with no knowledge of who you are, or what you've done, you have to rely on that certainty, because it's all you have that you can count on.

Logan was aware he had been a soldier. He might have volunteered to be experimented on, even (he really wasn't sure how much of what Stryker told him was the honest truth). But he **knew** , with that nagging sense of strange familiarity, that he had been on many, many missions like this. He knew the fear, the anticipation, the anxiety, the boredom. It was as familiar to him as the feel of claws sliding between his knuckles. He also knew that he was the only one here with that level of experience. Scott and Ororo might have gone on a few missions, but they weren't experienced the way he was, and their training was frightfully spotty, if what he saw at the Statue of Liberty was any indication. _And those two and the Professor are all there is to protect all those kids…_ He shifted in his seat enough to swivel his neck and eye Rogue. She had let go of Bobby's hand and was watching out the window, her mind far away. _'Bout time she learned something to protect herself, besides sucking the life out of the person._

His thoughts were broken by the Professor's announcement. "Kitty has the documents we need and is on her way back." There were no shouts of exultation, but Logan could hear the exhalations all over the plane as people sighed in relief. Time seemed to simultaneously speed up and slow down, as he waited for the first glimpse of her trudging back through the fields, a set of infinitely valuable folders in her hands.

Kitty's steps up the ramp were quick, but it was the quiver in her hands and the anxiety on her face that gave her away. She clutched the folders in a tight grip, surrendering them to the Professor with a visible release of tension. The Professor complimented her in words that didn't reach her trembling hands, and she returned a brief shaky smile before collapsing into her seat and quivering.

Rogue was out of her seat in a second, hands hovering that ever-present inch away. "You OK?" she asked worriedly, as Kitty started to hyperventilate.

Logan waited no longer, motioning Rogue back to her seat. "C'mon, kid," he told the brunette. "Breathe with me. In, now out. In, out again. In, out." Kitty's breaths slowed. "It's just post-mission nerves. Next time you won't have them so hard." A faint "next time?" sounded from behind him; he ignored it.

He stayed crouching by Kitty's seat only long enough to ensure she was on her way back to normal before returning to the front. Professor X had begun perusing the folders as soon as he saw Logan was handling Kitty, and Scott and Ororo each had one open, discussing the ramifications of their findings. Logan reached a hand for a folder, and found himself looking at diagrams from a program called Weapon X. He didn't recognize the title, but he didn't need to—not when he was looking at diagrams of the very operations that poured the liquid metal onto his bones. He found himself sinking to his seat and staring at the papers, stunned; he hadn't considered the possibility of Kitty bringing back **these** …

Logan figured he must have been in a state of shock as he pored over the papers, because all of a sudden they were ready to go. Professor X had sorted through all the papers, setting aside a few to leave in the folder going to the President's hands; the rest were safely stored on the plane to review when they had more time. Ororo led Kitty up front and began a crash course in turning the plane's stealth and defense modes on and off (it rather stood out in the field, if you didn't have a telepath sitting there blanking it from everyone's minds). _Might have been a good idea to do some of that last time_ , the thought came to him as he recalled Rogue's frantic breaths and shaky hands on the controls.

Then it was the last minute double-checking of stray hairs and emotions as the teleporter began with Professor X. Logan shook his head to clear the dizzying effects of the lurch; he might not get nauseous but feeling like his stomach just dropped out from under him wasn't the most pleasant experience. He found a spot to stand next to Ororo, whose eyes gleamed white as she controlled a localized storm, complete with lightning and dark clouds. In between flashes of lightning he spotted Scott taking up a post behind one of the handles of the Professor's wheelchair. It seemed fitting; Scott was, in some ways, the rock, the founding stone of the school. Rogue slipped into place on the other side, back stiffly upright, clutching the folder with one of her gloves. Bobby slipped in behind her, and Kurt 'ported to the mantle over the ostentatious fireplace. Logan did a visual check of their numbers, wondering why it felt like someone was missing. He bit his lip hard when it came to him. _Damn, sometimes it would be nice to **not** heal so quickly._

The fine details of the conversation didn't interest him; he didn't have to listen to it to know that the president was scared of them, nor that Professor X was trying to reason with him and get him to see the dangers of a full-blown war between mutants and humans. He paid attention anyway. This was a mission; you didn't check out or there would be hell to pay, sometime. Never mind that this one was probably under control, what with a telepath freezing the rest of the staff in the office, and a weather witch causing localized blackouts to knock out the TV equipment. He listened—and commented internally. A war coming? Anyone who wasn't blind could see that.

Professor X continued with, ". . . and there have been casualties—losses on both sides." Logan blinked back a stray bit of moisture and eyed Scott, whose throat seemed to be stuck with a lump he couldn't quite swallow properly. He returned his eyes forward and listened intently as the Professor finished his speech. "We're here to stay, Mr. President. The next move is yours."

 _And it better be a **good** one, for once_, Logan thought with just a touch of anger. He gave the president a final glare as he warned, "We'll be watching." The addition garnered him an odd look from Ororo, with more frank stares from the teenagers, but it was back on the jet that the effects of his decision were known.

"What was **that** all about?" Scott demanded, voice raised a hair. "That was **not** part of the plan."

"So sue me, I thought it needed mentioning," Logan shot back.

"Yeah, well, next time just keep your mouth shut," Scott snapped, swiveling his body abruptly to face forward as he began flipping switches and found his seat.

Logan closed his eyes briefly— _right, this would be where Scott gets mad over little things, note to self_ —before fastening his seatbelt.

"Mission accomplished," Professor X told Kitty, who looked a little less of a wreck than she had before. She slipped to her seat, and Logan was left to contemplate the words as the jet lifted off.

 _Mission accomplished? That depends on the mission._ Some had only begun.


	11. Jubilee

Jubilee was getting **very** impatient. It had to have been at least six hours since the jet had left, she was sure. In the meantime, she had played two games of Sorry!, one game of Monopoly, broken up three squabbles between some of the younger girls, and told at least a dozen jokes to keep a kid or two from crying. The TV in the downstairs rec room where they had all retreated (thanks to Piotr fishing pair after pair of shoes out of closets so they wouldn't cut their feet on the wood or glass) was playing yet another Beethoven movie (the 3rd? or was it the 4th? she had lost count by now). To top it off, she was starting to get hungry again, despite scarfing down at least five pieces of pizza earlier. Her stomach rumbled and she scowled from her place in the corner, keeping one eye on the main door, just in case.

She looked over at Dr. McCoy. He had presided over the restless mob for the afternoon, suggesting games and even reading a story from a book for a while. Now he was handing a pillow to one of the older teens. Most of the younger ones had already fallen asleep from exhaustion, though Jones was still awake, as usual. _I'm not sure when **he** last slept, anyway._

Dr. McCoy caught her watching him as he handed the last pillow out and a hint of a smile graced his face. He padded over to her, having long since abandoned the too-small flip-flops he had used for shoes. His furry limbs found a comfortable position on the floor before he spoke. "I presume you don't feel the same desire to recoup the lost hours of slumber?" The only answer to that query was a puzzled "huh?" "You aren't sleeping," he clarified.

Jubilee shrugged. She wasn't going to sleep till the others came back, and she didn't feel like explaining that. Dr. McCoy didn't look surprised at her lack of response, instead propping his back against the wall as he watched the children sleeping (or snoring). She gave him a sidelong glance, noting the drastic changes to his body. She had known him as a somewhat big man, with oversized hands and feet, who was known to (in the safety of the mansion) read a journal while hanging upside down from a bar near the ceiling. (Once, when they were studying Romeo and Juliet in literature, Jubilee asked him about the bars. He confirmed that they were put there specifically for him before promptly draping himself from one of them, whereupon he read from the play with a dramatic air and corrected her comprehension. She didn't think it nearly so important: wherefore, where, why—who cared, anyway?)

The man seated next to her bore only a faint resemblance to the Dr. McCoy she knew. Where once only his hands and feet betrayed the mutated gene they all had in common, now every part of his skin had turned a shocking shade of blue. Fur covered nearly all bare skin, and some of his teeth had developed definite points. His hair, once an unassuming shade of brown, had turned even darker blue. Jubilee ducked her head in embarrassment when she realized Dr. McCoy had turned his face toward her and caught her staring.

"It is rather a shock, I must confess, to find myself looking so foreign," he admitted.

"What happened?" Jubilee asked, with a little more gentleness than she typically displayed.

"It was when the mental attack hit all of us mutants. I was at the safe house with the rest of the children and found myself transforming." He held out a furry forearm, examining it.

"What are you going to do? I mean, it's not like you can hide you're a mutant anymore," Jubilee pointed out the obvious.

"That, I have yet to decide. I am not sure if my colleagues could accept a monster working alongside them." His face was pensive.

The words triggered a mental image for Jubilee, and she started giggling. "A… monster…" she got out between giggles, "Cookie… Monster…" She clutched her stomach as she laughed. Dr. McCoy gave her a curious glance before the connection hit his mind, and he started to see the funny side of it. His chuckles joined hers, till they both had tears in their eyes and their sides hurt.

Jubilee wasn't sure how it happened, but all of a sudden a sob came out instead of a laugh, and the tears started to burn. All the terror and grief from the last thirty-six hours welled up, and she clamped her eyes shut in an effort to keep it at bay. She felt an arm reaching around her, tugging her forward, and she buried her face into Dr. McCoy's sweatshirt as the tears trickled down her face. A hand gently rubbed her back, and his whisper urged her to let it all out.

Some minutes later she pulled back, wiping at reddened eyes. She kept her vision down—she was really too old to collapse in tears—until he lifted her chin up with a finger to reveal that his eyes, too, were suspiciously red. "There is no shame in tears," he said quietly. "Given the recent events, I'm certain yours will have plenty of company."

Jubilee nodded once and glanced over the students sleeping. Her ears picked up a hum of motors—"The jet! They're back!" she exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. She ducked into the bathroom across the hall from the rec room and splashed cold water on her face to soothe her sore eyes. She studied them critically in the mirror— _not too obvious, good_ —and stepped into the hallway.

It wasn't long till she heard the sound of boots on the hallway floors. Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty rounded the corner, and their faces brightened to see Jubilee standing there. "Welcome back," she greeted them, mustering up a big grin.

Kitty stepped forward of the others and threw her arms around Jubilee in a spontaneous hug. "I'm sorry you didn't get to go!"

Jubilee shrugged. "It's okay, Dr. McCoy and the other kids kept me from being too lonely. But—", she proclaimed, "I demand to hear all about it."

As they passed by the door to the rec room, Dr. McCoy gave Jubilee a wink. _Secret's safe with me_ , she could almost hear him saying. At least, that's how it would translate—one of these days she'd get him to realize that it would be a lot easier to talk with people if he didn't read the dictionary so much…


	12. Rogue

Rogue followed Jubilee and Kitty upstairs, Bobby silent beside her. The evening breeze swirled through the hallways, and she thanked Storm mentally for dry weather. (She had a sneaking suspicion that it would be nice and clear until the repairs were finished. After that… she figured she'd better make sure they were well-stocked in umbrellas.) The girls in front of her stopped suddenly, and she focused her attention forwards.

"What happened here?" Kitty asked, her voice quavering slightly. The slim brunette stared at the ruin that had been the kitchen. Bullet holes littered the far wall, fragments of dishes and food remains were strewn across the island and floor, and the windows were shot to pieces.

Bobby's voice broke the silence. "Logan stopped a soldier from getting me with one of the darts. Terry started screaming at the same time, so…" He gestured vaguely towards the destruction, letting them fill in the blanks.

Jubilee was the first to move. "Well, at least the fridge is untouched." She yanked open the doors, scanning the snacks within before pulling out a package of string cheese. Rogue found a chocolate milk and some leftover cold chicken, Kitty grabbed a yogurt and rummaged in a cupboard for a bag of chips, and Bobby snagged a jar of jam and headed off for bread and peanut butter.

"We have a slight problem," Kitty remarked, glancing down at her yogurt. Rogue raised her eyebrows at her. "This kitchen is clearly not fit for eating in." Kitty swept her hand out in an arc towards the island. "However, if we bring food downstairs, we're liable to be mobbed by hungry kids."

The other three teens contemplated the predicament for a moment, eyeing each other. Then Bobby set his snacks on a counter and started poking around for some large trays. Rogue nodded as soon as she figured out what he was doing, and started raiding the cupboards.

Jubilee sighed. "We can hoard the ice cream for ourselves, right?"

The trip back downstairs was slower than the one up, owing to precariously balanced food items. A bag of Cheetos on Kitty's tray kept toppling to the floor and being retrieved, and Rogue had to hold hers at a funny angle so the jar of peanut butter Bobby had stacked on it didn't fall. Bobby's stack of paper plates teetered a bit as he rounded a corner and stopped short to keep from running into Miss Munroe. Logan stood beside her, holding a file folder in his hand.

"What's with all the food?" Logan asked. Miss Munroe simply raised her eyebrows.

Rogue shrugged. "Figured the kids might be hungry, so we're taking care of supper."

The white-haired woman cast a glance over the assortment of snacks. "You have all the food groups, I see," she remarked dryly.

"Sure we do!" Kitty insisted. "See, the bread and crackers are grains, the peanut butter's the nuts, the jam's the fruit, the yogurt and cheese is the dairy…" she trailed off, looking over the food. "And we all had veggies on the pizza at lunch, so we're good." She raised her chin confidently; Jubilee matched it, and Rogue stifled a giggle.

Miss Munroe had to grin a little. "Thank you for thinking of supper," she said, grin softening into a small smile before she stepped aside, motioning with her hands for the trays to pass by. "We'll be back down in a bit ourselves."

Upon their entry into the rec room, the teens were met with a dozen pairs of very interested eyes, as the students who had woken up quickly scrambled over and began to surround them. Rogue grew annoyed at the push-and-shove (the peanut butter fell off in the middle of it) and finally decided she'd had enough. "Back off! You'll never get supper at this rate!" she half-shouted, half-growled. The younger students promptly did as they were told. It might have had something to do with the fire in her eyes and voice (and maybe the black uniform she was wearing helped). Jubilee eyed her with a newfound respect. "Now, if you're hungry, go get a couple of the card tables out and set them up." John Proudstar and his brother Jimmy sprang into action. "The rest of you, go sit down until we have it set up." She caught a glimpse of Dani in one of the corners, holding a couple of the younger girls back. _Smart girl; knew I liked her._ At this point, Rogue wasn't sure what was Logan and what was her. _You're certainly having fun tonight_ , she told him. There was an answering chuckle.

The hodgepodge supper was soon arranged to some sense of satisfaction, and the four of them started putting together their own plates of food. "Sit back down, we're not ready for you yet," Rogue sternly warned a couple boys who had their hands outstretched toward a bag of chips.

"But you're getting yours," Trevor started to whine.

"Yeah, and we brought it down, so we get to eat first. There's enough for all of you, so be patient." Rogue finished piling her plate with cheese and crackers before making her way to the wall by the door. She sat down next to Bobby and stuck her fork into the container of chicken. None of them said a word; the only sounds were the crunch of chips and the smacking of lips as the food was devoured. Rogue tried not to think about how uncharacteristic the silence was.

"It's too quiet," Jubilee complained.

"What should we talk about, then?" asked Kitty, logical as ever.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe about how stinkin' **mad** I am that those bastards just waltzed in here without so much as an if-you-please and decided to kidnap us."

"How's being mad going to help anything? What could any of us have done?" Bobby pointed out.

Kitty went pale and twisted her hands. Rogue closed her eyes. Bobby was sweet but he could be so **dumb** sometimes. _No joke there_ , Logan pointed out to her. _Shut up_ , she snapped.

Jubilee glanced at Kitty, deliberately allowing her gaze to linger for a moment before turning on the rest of them. "Well, soldiers with tranquilizer guns against a bunch of us teenagers—and kids—that's crazy odds. Even I'm not going to pretend otherwise. " Bobby nodded. "But if we had trained to use our powers—not just for the fun of it, but to attack and defend—we all could do a lot more than just run."

Rogue stiffened. _Use my powers, right_ , came her mental sarcastic reply. She didn't think Jubilee meant it, or she'd have said it out loud.

Jubilee seemed to pick up on it anyway. "Even you, Rogue, if you knew how to fight, we could all do a lot just being able to take a guy down."

Bobby laughed, a humorless chuckle. "Sure, us against all the soldiers. We'd all be dead if we'd tried that."

"Maybe not if we knew what we were doing," Jubilee insisted. "I think we should demand to be trained as X-Men—it's not like there are too many of them. Some of you get to wear the uniform already," she said with a note of jealousy.

Rogue turned back to look at the rest of the room. Her eyes drifted to Dani, who was currently acting as mediator between two of the younger boys. "If we're going to request that us seniors get trained, then this conference should include all the seniors."

The others turned to look at her with a bit of surprise in their faces. Kitty spoke for everyone. "Oh right, Dani."

Dani was a puzzle to Rogue. She was a bit of a mother hen with the youngest ones, but she never hung around Rogue or any of the rest of their group, despite being a senior as well. She was quiet in their classes, but Rogue could tell she genuinely found the material interesting—unlike Jubilee, who clearly couldn't wait for graduation. She was always polite, but there was always that wall between herself and the others. Rogue wasn't sure if it was because she was Indian (she guessed not, since the Proudstar brothers were too, and they were pretty friendly), or if she just didn't like the rest of them.

"I'll be right back." Rogue wasn't sure if Dani would want to be trained, but it was only right that she be included. _The more of us, the better chance the Professor might say yes_ , she reasoned.

The squabble between the boys had ended by the time Rogue got over to Dani, and the Indian girl looked up as Rogue approached. "We're having a discussion you might want to be part of," Rogue suggested. Dani simply nodded, collected her plate, and followed Rogue back over.

"You want to go over your proposal?" Rogue asked Jubilee once they were all settled, circle widened to accommodate the fifth person.

Apparently Jubilee's brain was working overtime, because she'd managed to make it sound even smoother. "I think that it's dangerous for us to not be trained how to defend ourselves—and attack if we need to. So I'm gonna go to the Professor tomorrow and insist we get trained as X-Men. We're all seniors, so we're pretty much all of age, and we're as much at risk as any of the other kids." By this time Bobby was nodding. Jubilee took that as encouragement. "So, who's coming with me?"

"I'm in," said Bobby. He looked down at the uniform he was wearing. "I want to earn this," he said, brushing his hands down it.

Rogue nodded her confirmation. She had two men in her head who didn't like how untrained she was. _'Bout time we did something about that_ , Logan declared. Rogue rolled her eyes—mentally.

"I'll go," said Kitty. "The Professor said I didn't have the right training to do anything. Maybe if I'd had…" she trailed off, chewing her lip.

"I'll come too," Dani affirmed. Her eyes showed a quiet determination.

"That makes all five of us. Good," Jubilee commented.

Kitty was skeptical. "You think he's going to say yes?"

Jubilee didn't have a chance to comment, as Rogue answered for her. "I think if we play it right, we'll get exactly what we ask for." Rogue didn't bother to clarify that she thought Jubilee would rue the day she begged to be trained; it would make a very amusing surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all, folks. Hope you enjoyed, as raw as the writing is. (Given I wrote some of this **how** long ago? I've edited some since but it's never had a proper beta look it over, I'm afraid.) Maybe someday there will be more, but don't count on it.


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